Portable device microphone status indicator

ABSTRACT

A method performed by a portable playback device comprises receiving, via the portable playback device, a power activation indication. In response to receiving the power activation indication, power is supplied to at least one exterior visual indicator disposed on an outward-facing portion of an earcup of the portable playback device via a first power supply path of the portable playback device. A microphone activation indication associated with at least one microphone of the portable playback device is received. In response to receiving the microphone activation indication, microphone circuitry associated with the at least one microphone activated. An interior visual indicator disposed within a user-facing surface of the earcup of the portable playback device is illuminated. The interior visual indicator is positioned such that when the portable playback device is worn by a user, a state of the microphone status visual indicator is concealed. And when the portable playback device is not worn by the user, a state of the microphone status visual indicator is visible.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e)of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/916,583, filed Oct. 17, 2019, thecontent of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is related to consumer goods and, moreparticularly, to methods, systems, products, features, services, andother elements directed to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were limited until, in 2002, when SONOS, Inc. began developmentof a new type of playback system. Sonos then filed one of its firstpatent applications in 2003, entitled “Method for Synchronizing AudioPlayback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering itsfirst media playback systems for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HomeSound System enables people to experience music from many sources viaone or more networked playback devices. Through a software controlapplication installed on a controller (e.g., smartphone, tablet,computer, voice input device), one can play what she wants in any roomhaving a networked playback device. Media content (e.g., songs,podcasts, video sound) can be streamed to playback devices such thateach room with a playback device can play back corresponding differentmedia content. In addition, rooms can be grouped together forsynchronous playback of the same media content, and/or the same mediacontent can be heard in all rooms synchronously.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings, as listed below. A personskilled in the relevant art will understand that the features shown inthe drawings are for purposes of illustrations, and variations,including different and/or additional features and arrangements thereof,are possible.

FIG. 1A is a partial cutaway view of an environment having a mediaplayback system configured in accordance with aspects of the disclosedtechnology.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the media playback system of FIG. 1Aand one or more networks.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram of a network microphone device.

FIG. 1F is a block diagram of a network microphone device.

FIG. 1G is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1H is a partially schematic diagram of a control device.

FIGS. 1-I, 1J, 1K, and 1L are schematic diagrams of corresponding mediaplayback system zones.

FIG. 1M is a schematic diagram of media playback system areas.

FIG. 2A is a front isometric view of a playback device configured inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 2B is a front isometric view of the playback device of FIG. 3Awithout a grille.

FIG. 2C is an exploded view of the playback device of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A is a front view of a network microphone device configured inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 3B is a side isometric view of the network microphone device ofFIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C is an exploded view of the network microphone device of FIGS. 3Aand 3B.

FIG. 3D is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 3B.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are schematic diagrams of a control device invarious stages of operation in accordance with aspects of the disclosedtechnology.

FIG. 5 is front view of a control device.

FIG. 6 is a message flow diagram of a media playback system.

FIG. 7A is a partial cutaway view of an environment having a mediaplayback system configured in accordance with aspects of the disclosedtechnology.

FIG. 7B is a block diagram of a portable playback device configured inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 7C is a front isometric view of a portable playback deviceimplemented as headphones configured in accordance with aspects of thedisclosed technology.

FIG. 8A is a front isometric view of a portable playback deviceimplemented as headphones configured in accordance with aspects of thedisclosed technology.

FIG. 8B is a front isometric view of a portable playback deviceimplemented as headphones configured in accordance with aspects of thedisclosed technology.

FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view of a portion of earcup configured inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of a portion of another earcupconfiguration in accordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 9C illustrates a partial side-view of the earcup in accordance withaspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 9D illustrates a visual indicator that corresponds to a light pipethat extends along the inner circumference of a ring of an earcup inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 10A illustrates a first example of microphone circuitry of theportable playback device in accordance with aspects of the disclosedtechnology.

FIG. 10B illustrates a second example of microphone circuitry of theportable playback device in accordance with aspects of the disclosedtechnology.

FIG. 10C illustrates a third example of microphone circuitry of theportable playback device in accordance with aspects of the disclosedtechnology.

FIG. 11 illustrates operations performed by an example of the portableplayback device in accordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 12 illustrates operations performed by another example of theportable playback device in accordance with aspects of the disclosedtechnology.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that thetechnology disclosed herein is not limited to the arrangements and/orinstrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

Examples described herein relate to a portable playback device thatincludes one or more microphones that facilitate performing operationssuch as noise-canceling, processing voice commands, etc. An example ofthe portable playback device includes a visual indicator that ishardwired to the microphones such that the visual indicator visuallyindicates to a user whether any of the microphones are activelyreceiving and processing audio content. Hardwiring of the visualindicator to the microphones mitigates the risk that maliciousinstruction code could activate one or more of the microphones withoutthe user's knowledge.

An example of the portable playback device corresponds to headphones,and an example of the visual indicator corresponds to an interior visualindicator that is arranged in a discrete location of the headphones. Forinstance, in an example, the interior visual indicator is arrangedwithin an earcup of the headphones. When arranged this way, the state ofthe interior visual indicator cannot be ascertained while the headphonesare being worn. On the other hand, when the headphones are placed on atable, a user with direct line of sight to the interior of the earcupcan view the interior visual indicator. In this way, the state of theinterior visual indicator can be conveyed discretely to the user.

In an example, power is supplied to one or more exterior visualindicators of the portable playback device via a first power supplypath. Power is supplied to the interior visual indicator via a secondpower supply path. Further, the first and second power supply paths areindependently operated.

In some examples, the microphones are activated via user interactionwith a user interface of the portable playback device. For example, theuser can press a switch that activates a microphone circuit forreceiving voice commands or for enabling noise cancellation. This, inturn, causes the interior visual indicator to illuminate.

In some examples, subsequent to activation of the microphone circuit,the microphone circuit deactivates after a predetermined period ofinactivity of the microphone. When the microphone circuit isdeactivated, the interior visual indicator transitions to anunilluminated state.

In some examples, the portable playback device includes multiplemicrophones. For example, the playback device includes a firstmicrophone arranged on an outside housing of the portable playbackdevices that is configured to receive ambient noise and facilitate theperformance of noise cancellation. A second microphone is arranged onthe outside of the housing and facilitates receiving voice commands froma user of the portable playback device. A third microphone is arrangedwithin the earcup of the portable playback device. When any of the firstmicrophone, the second microphone, or the third microphone is activelyreceiving audio signals, the interior visual indicator transitions to anilluminated state, and when all of the first microphone, the secondmicrophone, and the third microphone are deactivated, the interiorvisual indicator transitions to an unilluminated state.

In some examples, the interior visual indicator is configured toindicate a plurality of illuminated states. For example, a firstilluminated state is associated with the activation of the firstmicrophone. A second illuminated state is associated with activation ofthe second microphone. And a third illuminated state is associated withactivation of the third microphone. In some examples, the variousilluminated states correspond to different colors.

While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed bygiven actors such as “users,” “listeners,” and/or other entities, itshould be understood that this is for purposes of explanation only. Theclaims should not be interpreted to require action by any such exampleactor unless explicitly required by the language of the claimsthemselves.

Moreover, some functions are described herein as being performed “basedon” or “in response to” another element or function. “Based on” shouldbe understood that one element or function is related to anotherfunction or element. “In response to” should be understood that oneelement or function is a necessary result of another function orelement. For the sake of brevity, functions are generally described asbeing based on another function when a functional link exists; however,such disclosure should be understood as disclosing either type offunctional relationship.

In the Figures, identical reference numbers identify generally similar,and/or identical, elements. To facilitate the discussion of anyparticular element, the most significant digit or digits of a referencenumber refers to the Figure in which that element is first introduced.For example, element 110 a is first introduced and discussed withreference to FIG. 1A. Many of the details, dimensions, angles and otherfeatures shown in the Figures are merely illustrative of particularembodiments of the disclosed technology. Accordingly, other embodimentscan have other details, dimensions, angles and features withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. In addition, thoseof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that further embodiments ofthe various disclosed technologies can be practiced without several ofthe details described below.

II. Suitable Operating Environment

FIG. 1A is a partial cutaway view of a media playback system 100distributed in an environment 101 (e.g., a house). The media playbacksystem 100 includes one or more playback devices 110 (identifiedindividually as playback devices 110 a-n), one or more networkmicrophone devices (“NMDs”), 120 (identified individually as NMDs 120a-c), and one or more control devices 130 (identified individually ascontrol devices 130 a and 130 b).

As used herein the term “playback device” can generally refer to anetwork device configured to receive, process, and output data of amedia playback system. For example, a playback device can be a networkdevice that receives and processes audio content. In some embodiments, aplayback device includes one or more transducers or speakers powered byone or more amplifiers. In other embodiments, however, a playback deviceincludes one of (or neither of) the speaker and the amplifier. Forinstance, a playback device can comprise one or more amplifiersconfigured to drive one or more speakers external to the playback devicevia a corresponding wire or cable.

Moreover, as used herein the term NMD (i.e., a “network microphonedevice”) can generally refer to a network device that is configured foraudio detection. In some embodiments, an NMD is a stand-alone deviceconfigured primarily for audio detection. In other embodiments, an NMDis incorporated into a playback device (or vice versa).

The term “control device” can generally refer to a network deviceconfigured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access,control, and/or configuration of the media playback system 100.

Each of the playback devices 110 is configured to receive audio signalsor data from one or more media sources (e.g., one or more remoteservers, one or more local devices) and play back the received audiosignals or data as sound. The one or more NMDs 120 are configured toreceive spoken word commands, and the one or more control devices 130are configured to receive user input. In response to the received spokenword commands and/or user input, the media playback system 100 can playback audio via one or more of the playback devices 110. In certainembodiments, the playback devices 110 are configured to commenceplayback of media content in response to a trigger. For instance, one ormore of the playback devices 110 can be configured to play back amorning playlist upon detection of an associated trigger condition(e.g., presence of a user in a kitchen, detection of a coffee machineoperation). In some embodiments, for example, the media playback system100 is configured to play back audio from a first playback device (e.g.,the playback device 100 a) in synchrony with a second playback device(e.g., the playback device 100 b). Interactions between the playbackdevices 110, NMDs 120, and/or control devices 130 of the media playbacksystem 100 configured in accordance with the various embodiments of thedisclosure are described in greater detail below with respect to FIGS.1B-6.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1A, the environment 101 includes ahousehold having several rooms, spaces, and/or playback zones, including(clockwise from upper left) a master bathroom 101 a, a master bedroom101 b, a second bedroom 101 c, a family room or den 101 d, an office 101e, a living room 101 f, a dining room 101 g, a kitchen 101 h, and anoutdoor patio 101 i. While certain embodiments and examples aredescribed below in the context of a home environment, the technologiesdescribed herein may be implemented in other types of environments. Insome embodiments, for example, the media playback system 100 can beimplemented in one or more commercial settings (e.g., a restaurant,mall, airport, hotel, a retail or other store), one or more vehicles(e.g., a sports utility vehicle, bus, car, a ship, a boat, an airplane),multiple environments (e.g., a combination of home and vehicleenvironments), and/or another suitable environment where multi-zoneaudio may be desirable.

The media playback system 100 can comprise one or more playback zones,some of which may correspond to the rooms in the environment 101. Themedia playback system 100 can be established with one or more playbackzones, after which additional zones may be added, or removed to form,for example, the configuration shown in FIG. 1A. Each zone may be givena name according to a different room or space such as the office 101 e,master bathroom 101 a, master bedroom 101 b, the second bedroom 101 c,kitchen 101 h, dining room 101 g, living room 101 f, and/or the balcony101 i. In some aspects, a single playback zone may include multiplerooms or spaces. In certain aspects, a single room or space may includemultiple playback zones.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1A, the master bathroom 101 a, thesecond bedroom 101 c, the office 101 e, the living room 101 f, thedining room 101 g, the kitchen 101 h, and the outdoor patio 101 i eachinclude one playback device 110, and the master bedroom 101 b and theden 101 d include a plurality of playback devices 110. In the masterbedroom 101 b, the playback devices 110 l and 110 m may be configured,for example, to play back audio content in synchrony as individual onesof playback devices 110, as a bonded playback zone, as a consolidatedplayback device, and/or any combination thereof. Similarly, in the den101 d, the playback devices 110 h-j can be configured, for instance, toplay back audio content in synchrony as individual ones of playbackdevices 110, as one or more bonded playback devices, and/or as one ormore consolidated playback devices. Additional details regarding bondedand consolidated playback devices are described below with respect toFIGS. 1B and 1E, as well as FIGS. 14-1M.

In some aspects, one or more of the playback zones in the environment101 may each be playing different audio content. For instance, a usermay be grilling on the patio 101 i and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 110 c while another user is preparing foodin the kitchen 101 h and listening to classical music played by theplayback device 110 b. In another example, a playback zone may play thesame audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office 101 e listening to the playbackdevice 110 f playing back the same hip hop music being played back byplayback device 110 c on the patio 101 i. In some aspects, the playbackdevices 110 c and 110 f play back the hip hop music in synchrony suchthat the user perceives that the audio content is being playedseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) while moving betweendifferent playback zones.

Example synchrony techniques involve a group coordinator providing audiocontent and timing information to one or more group members tofacilitate synchronous playback among the group coordinator and thegroup members. Additional details regarding audio playbacksynchronization among playback devices and/or zones can be found, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method forsynchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clockeddigital data processing devices,” which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

a. Suitable Media Playback System

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the media playback system 100 and acloud network 102. For ease of illustration, certain devices of themedia playback system 100 and the cloud network 102 are omitted fromFIG. 1B. One or more communication links 103 (referred to hereinafter as“the links 103”) communicatively couple the media playback system 100and the cloud network 102.

The links 103 can comprise, for example, one or more wired networks, oneor more wireless networks, one or more wide area networks (WAN), one ormore local area networks (LAN), one or more personal area networks(PAN), one or more telecommunication networks (e.g., one or more GlobalSystem for Mobiles (GSM) networks, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)networks, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks, 5G communication networknetworks, and/or other suitable data transmission protocol networks),etc. The cloud network 102 is configured to deliver media content (e.g.,audio content, video content, photographs, social media content) to themedia playback system 100 in response to a request transmitted from themedia playback system 100 via the links 103. In some embodiments, thecloud network 102 is further configured to receive data (e.g. voiceinput data) from the media playback system 100 and correspondinglytransmit commands and/or media content to the media playback system 100.

The cloud network 102 includes computing devices 106 (identifiedseparately as a first computing device 106 a, a second computing device106 b, and a third computing device 106 c). The computing devices 106can comprise individual computers or servers, such as, for example, amedia streaming service server storing audio and/or other media content,a voice service server, a social media server, a media playback systemcontrol server, etc. In some embodiments, one or more of the computingdevices 106 comprise modules of a single computer or server. In certainembodiments, one or more of the computing devices 106 comprise one ormore modules, computers, and/or servers. Moreover, while the cloudnetwork 102 is described above in the context of a single cloud network,in some embodiments the cloud network 102 includes a plurality of cloudnetworks comprising communicatively coupled computing devices.Furthermore, while the cloud network 102 is shown in FIG. 1B as havingthree of the computing devices 106, in some embodiments, the cloudnetwork 102 includes fewer (or more than) three computing devices 106.

The media playback system 100 is configured to receive media contentfrom the networks 102 via the links 103. The received media content cancomprise, for example, a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and/or aUniform Resource Locator (URL). For instance, in some examples, themedia playback system 100 can stream, download, or otherwise obtain datafrom a URI or a URL corresponding to the received media content. Anetwork 104 communicatively couples the links 103 and at least a portionof the devices (e.g., one or more of the playback devices 110, NMDs 120,and/or control devices 130) of the media playback system 100. Thenetwork 104 can include, for example, a wireless network (e.g., a WiFinetwork, a Bluetooth, a Z-Wave network, a ZigBee, and/or other suitablewireless communication protocol network) and/or a wired network (e.g., anetwork comprising Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and/or anothersuitable wired communication). As those of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate, as used herein, “WiFi” can refer to several differentcommunication protocols including, for example, Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11af, 802.11ah, 802.11ai, 802.11aj,802.11aq, 802.11ax, 802.11ay, 802.15, etc. transmitted at 2.4 Gigahertz(GHz), 5 GHz, and/or another suitable frequency.

In some embodiments, the network 104 includes a dedicated communicationnetwork that the media playback system 100 uses to transmit messagesbetween individual devices and/or to transmit media content to and frommedia content sources (e.g., one or more of the computing devices 106).In certain embodiments, the network 104 is configured to be accessibleonly to devices in the media playback system 100, thereby reducinginterference and competition with other household devices. In otherembodiments, however, the network 104 includes an existing householdcommunication network (e.g., a household WiFi network). In someembodiments, the links 103 and the network 104 comprise one or more ofthe same networks. In some aspects, for example, the links 103 and thenetwork 104 comprise a telecommunication network (e.g., an LTE network,a 5G network). Moreover, in some embodiments, the media playback system100 is implemented without the network 104, and devices comprising themedia playback system 100 can communicate with each other, for example,via one or more direct connections, PANs, telecommunication networks,and/or other suitable communication links.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, forexample, the media playback system 100 performs an indexing of mediaitems when one or more media content sources are updated, added to,and/or removed from the media playback system 100. The media playbacksystem 100 can scan identifiable media items in some or all foldersand/or directories accessible to the playback devices 110, and generateor update a media content database comprising metadata (e.g., title,artist, album, track length) and other associated information (e.g.,URIs, URLs) for each identifiable media item found. In some embodiments,for example, the media content database is stored on one or more of theplayback devices 110, network microphone devices 120, and/or controldevices 130.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1B, the playback devices 110 l and110 m comprise a group 107 a. The playback devices 110 l and 110 m canbe positioned in different rooms in a household and be grouped togetherin the group 107 a on a temporary or permanent basis based on user inputreceived at the control device 130 a and/or another control device 130in the media playback system 100. When arranged in the group 107 a, theplayback devices 110 l and 110 m can be configured to play back the sameor similar audio content in synchrony from one or more audio contentsources. In certain embodiments, for example, the group 107 a includes abonded zone in which the playback devices 110 l and 110 m comprise leftaudio and right audio channels, respectively, of multi-channel audiocontent, thereby producing or enhancing a stereo effect of the audiocontent. In some embodiments, the group 107 a includes additionalplayback devices 110. In other embodiments, however, the media playbacksystem 100 omits the group 107 a and/or other grouped arrangements ofthe playback devices 110. Additional details regarding groups and otherarrangements of playback devices are described in further detail belowwith respect to FIGS. 1-I through IM.

The media playback system 100 includes the NMDs 120 a and 120 d, eachcomprising one or more microphones configured to receive voiceutterances from a user. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1B, theNMD 120 a is a standalone device and the NMD 120 d is integrated intothe playback device 110 n. The NMD 120 a, for example, is configured toreceive voice input 121 from a user 123. In some embodiments, the NMD120 a transmits data associated with the received voice input 121 to avoice assistant service (VAS) configured to (i) process the receivedvoice input data and (ii) transmit a corresponding command to the mediaplayback system 100. In some aspects, for example, the computing device106 c includes one or more modules and/or servers of a VAS (e.g., a VASoperated by one or more of SONOS®, AMAZON®, GOOGLE® APPLE®, MICROSOFT®).The computing device 106 c can receive the voice input data from the NMD120 a via the network 104 and the links 103. In response to receivingthe voice input data, the computing device 106 c processes the voiceinput data (i.e., “Play Hey Jude by The Beatles”), and determines thatthe processed voice input includes a command to play a song (e.g., “HeyJude”). The computing device 106 c accordingly transmits commands to themedia playback system 100 to play back “Hey Jude” by the Beatles from asuitable media service (e.g., via one or more of the computing devices106) on one or more of the playback devices 110.

b. Suitable Playback Devices

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of the playback device 110 a comprising aninput/output 111. The input/output 111 can include an analog I/O 111 a(e.g., one or more wires, cables, and/or other suitable communicationlinks configured to carry analog signals) and/or a digital I/O 111 b(e.g., one or more wires, cables, or other suitable communication linksconfigured to carry digital signals). In some embodiments, the analogI/O 111 a is an audio line-in input connection comprising, for example,an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-in connection. In some embodiments,the digital I/O 111 b includes a Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format(S/PDIF) communication interface and/or cable and/or a Toshiba Link(TOSLINK) cable. In some embodiments, the digital I/O 111 b includes anHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interface and/or cable. Insome embodiments, the digital I/O 111 b includes one or more wirelesscommunication links comprising, for example, a radio frequency (RF),infrared, WiFi, Bluetooth, or another suitable communication protocol.In certain embodiments, the analog I/O 111 a and the digital 111 bcomprise interfaces (e.g., ports, plugs, jacks) configured to receiveconnectors of cables transmitting analog and digital signals,respectively, without necessarily including cables.

The playback device 110 a, for example, can receive media content (e.g.,audio content comprising music and/or other sounds) from a local audiosource 105 via the input/output 111 (e.g., a cable, a wire, a PAN, aBluetooth connection, an ad hoc wired or wireless communication network,and/or another suitable communication link). The local audio source 105can comprise, for example, a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone, atablet, a laptop computer) or another suitable audio component (e.g., atelevision, a desktop computer, an amplifier, a phonograph, a Blu-rayplayer, a memory storing digital media files). In some aspects, thelocal audio source 105 includes local music libraries on a smartphone, acomputer, a networked-attached storage (NAS), and/or another suitabledevice configured to store media files. In certain embodiments, one ormore of the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/or control devices 130comprise the local audio source 105. In other embodiments, however, themedia playback system omits the local audio source 105 altogether. Insome embodiments, the playback device 110 a does not include aninput/output 111 and receives all audio content via the network 104.

The playback device 110 a further includes electronics 112, a userinterface 113 (e.g., one or more buttons, knobs, dials, touch-sensitivesurfaces, displays, touchscreens), and one or more transducers 114(referred to hereinafter as “the transducers 114”). The electronics 112is configured to receive audio from an audio source (e.g., the localaudio source 105) via the input/output 111, one or more of the computingdevices 106 a-c via the network 104 (FIG. 1B)), amplify the receivedaudio, and output the amplified audio for playback via one or more ofthe transducers 114. In some embodiments, the playback device 110 aoptionally includes one or more microphones 115 (e.g., a singlemicrophone, a plurality of microphones, a microphone array) (hereinafterreferred to as “the microphones 115”). In certain embodiments, forexample, the playback device 110 a having one or more of the optionalmicrophones 115 can operate as an NMD configured to receive voice inputfrom a user and correspondingly perform one or more operations based onthe received voice input.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1C, the electronics 112 compriseone or more processors 112 a (referred to hereinafter as “the processors112 a”), memory 112 b, software components 112 c, a network interface112 d, one or more audio processing components 112 g (referred tohereinafter as “the audio components 112 g”), one or more audioamplifiers 112 h (referred to hereinafter as “the amplifiers 112 h”),and power 112 i (e.g., one or more power supplies, power cables, powerreceptacles, batteries, induction coils, Power-over Ethernet (POE)interfaces, and/or other suitable sources of electric power). In someembodiments, the electronics 112 optionally include one or more othercomponents 112 j (e.g., one or more sensors, video displays,touchscreens).

The processors 112 a can comprise clock-driven computing component(s)configured to process data, and the memory 112 b can comprise acomputer-readable medium (e.g., a tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, data storage loaded with one or more of thesoftware components 112 c) configured to store instructions forperforming various operations and/or functions. The processors 112 a areconfigured to execute the instructions stored on the memory 112 b toperform one or more of the operations. The operations can include, forexample, causing the playback device 110 a to retrieve audio data froman audio source (e.g., one or more of the computing devices 106 a-c(FIG. 1B)), and/or another one of the playback devices 110. In someembodiments, the operations further include causing the playback device110 a to send audio data to another one of the playback devices 110 aand/or another device (e.g., one of the NMDs 120). Certain embodimentsinclude operations causing the playback device 110 a to pair withanother of the one or more playback devices 110 to enable amulti-channel audio environment (e.g., a stereo pair, a bonded zone).

The processors 112 a can be further configured to perform operationscausing the playback device 110 a to synchronize playback of audiocontent with another of the one or more playback devices 110. As thoseof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, during synchronousplayback of audio content on a plurality of playback devices, a listenerwill preferably be unable to perceive time-delay differences betweenplayback of the audio content by the playback device 110 a and the otherone or more other playback devices 110. Additional details regardingaudio playback synchronization among playback devices can be found, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395, which was incorporated by referenceabove.

In some embodiments, the memory 112 b is further configured to storedata associated with the playback device 110 a, such as one or morezones and/or zone groups of which the playback device 110 a is a member,audio sources accessible to the playback device 110 a, and/or a playbackqueue that the playback device 110 a (and/or another of the one or moreplayback devices) can be associated with. The stored data can compriseone or more state variables that are periodically updated and used todescribe a state of the playback device 110 a. The memory 112 b can alsoinclude data associated with a state of one or more of the other devices(e.g., the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, control devices 130) of themedia playback system 100. In some aspects, for example, the state datais shared during predetermined intervals of time (e.g., every 5 seconds,every 10 seconds, every 60 seconds) among at least a portion of thedevices of the media playback system 100, so that one or more of thedevices have the most recent data associated with the media playbacksystem 100.

The network interface 112 d is configured to facilitate a transmissionof data between the playback device 110 a and one or more other deviceson a data network such as, for example, the links 103 and/or the network104 (FIG. 1B). The network interface 112 d is configured to transmit andreceive data corresponding to media content (e.g., audio content, videocontent, text, photographs) and other signals (e.g., non-transitorysignals) comprising digital packet data including an Internet Protocol(IP)-based source address and/or an IP-based destination address. Thenetwork interface 112 d can parse the digital packet data such that theelectronics 112 properly receives and processes the data destined forthe playback device 110 a.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1C, the network interface 112 dincludes one or more wireless interfaces 112 e (referred to hereinafteras “the wireless interface 112 e”). The wireless interface 112 e (e.g.,a suitable interface comprising one or more antennae) can be configuredto wirelessly communicate with one or more other devices (e.g., one ormore of the other playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/or control devices130) that are communicatively coupled to the network 104 (FIG. 1B) inaccordance with a suitable wireless communication protocol (e.g., WiFi,Bluetooth, LTE). In some embodiments, the network interface 112 doptionally includes a wired interface 112 f (e.g., an interface orreceptacle configured to receive a network cable such as an Ethernet, aUSB-A, USB-C, and/or Thunderbolt cable) configured to communicate over awired connection with other devices in accordance with a suitable wiredcommunication protocol. In certain embodiments, the network interface112 d includes the wired interface 112 f and excludes the wirelessinterface 112 e. In some embodiments, the electronics 112 excludes thenetwork interface 112 d altogether and transmits and receives mediacontent and/or other data via another communication path (e.g., theinput/output 111).

The audio components 112 g are configured to process and/or filter datacomprising media content received by the electronics 112 (e.g., via theinput/output 111 and/or the network interface 112 d) to produce outputaudio signals. In some embodiments, the audio processing components 112g comprise, for example, one or more digital-to-analog converters (DAC),audio preprocessing components, audio enhancement components, a digitalsignal processors (DSPs), and/or other suitable audio processingcomponents, modules, circuits, etc. In certain embodiments, one or moreof the audio processing components 112 g can comprise one or moresubcomponents of the processors 112 a. In some embodiments, theelectronics 112 omits the audio processing components 112 g. In someaspects, for example, the processors 112 a execute instructions storedon the memory 112 b to perform audio processing operations to producethe output audio signals.

The amplifiers 112 h are configured to receive and amplify the audiooutput signals produced by the audio processing components 112 g and/orthe processors 112 a. The amplifiers 112 h can comprise electronicdevices and/or components configured to amplify audio signals to levelssufficient for driving one or more of the transducers 114. In someembodiments, for example, the amplifiers 112 h include one or moreswitching or class-D power amplifiers. In other embodiments, however,the amplifiers include one or more other types of power amplifiers(e.g., linear gain power amplifiers, class-A amplifiers, class-Bamplifiers, class-AB amplifiers, class-C amplifiers, class-D amplifiers,class-E amplifiers, class-F amplifiers, class-G and/or class Hamplifiers, and/or another suitable type of power amplifier). In certainembodiments, the amplifiers 112 h comprise a suitable combination of twoor more of the foregoing types of power amplifiers. Moreover, in someembodiments, individual ones of the amplifiers 112 h correspond toindividual ones of the transducers 114. In other embodiments, however,the electronics 112 includes a single one of the amplifiers 112 hconfigured to output amplified audio signals to a plurality of thetransducers 114. In some other embodiments, the electronics 112 omitsthe amplifiers 112 h.

The transducers 114 (e.g., one or more speakers and/or speaker drivers)receive the amplified audio signals from the amplifier 112 h and renderor output the amplified audio signals as sound (e.g., audible soundwaves having a frequency between about 20 Hertz (Hz) and 20 kilohertz(kHz)). In some embodiments, the transducers 114 can comprise a singletransducer. In other embodiments, however, the transducers 114 comprisea plurality of audio transducers. In some embodiments, the transducers114 comprise more than one type of transducer. For example, thetransducers 114 can include one or more low frequency transducers (e.g.,subwoofers, woofers), mid-range frequency transducers (e.g., mid-rangetransducers, mid-woofers), and one or more high frequency transducers(e.g., one or more tweeters). As used herein, “low frequency” cangenerally refer to audible frequencies below about 500 Hz, “mid-rangefrequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies between about 500Hz and about 2 kHz, and “high frequency” can generally refer to audiblefrequencies above 2 kHz. In certain embodiments, however, one or more ofthe transducers 114 comprise transducers that do not adhere to theforegoing frequency ranges. For example, one of the transducers 114 maycomprise a mid-woofer transducer configured to output sound atfrequencies between about 200 Hz and about 5 kHz.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including, for example, a “SONOS ONE,”“PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,” “PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “PLAYBASE,” “CONNECT:AMP,”“CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Other suitable playback devices may additionallyor alternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, one of ordinary skilled inthe art will appreciate that a playback device is not limited to theexamples described herein or to SONOS product offerings. In someembodiments, for example, one or more playback devices 110 includeswired or wireless headphones (e.g., over-the-ear headphones, on-earheadphones, in-ear earphones). In other embodiments, one or more of theplayback devices 110 comprise a docking station and/or an interfaceconfigured to interact with a docking station for personal mobile mediaplayback devices. In certain embodiments, a playback device may beintegral to another device or component such as a television, a lightingfixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use. In someembodiments, a playback device omits a user interface and/or one or moretransducers. For example, FIG. 1D is a block diagram of a playbackdevice 110 p comprising the input/output 111 and electronics 112 withoutthe user interface 113 or transducers 114.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram of a bonded playback device 110 q comprisingthe playback device 110 a (FIG. 1C) sonically bonded with the playbackdevice 110 i (e.g., a subwoofer) (FIG. 1A). In the illustratedembodiment, the playback devices 110 a and 110 i are separate ones ofthe playback devices 110 housed in separate enclosures. In someembodiments, however, the bonded playback device 110 q includes a singleenclosure housing both the playback devices 110 a and 110 i. The bondedplayback device 110 q can be configured to process and reproduce sounddifferently than an unbonded playback device (e.g., the playback device110 a of FIG. 1C) and/or paired or bonded playback devices (e.g., theplayback devices 110 l and 110 m of FIG. 1B). In some embodiments, forexample, the playback device 110 a is full-range playback deviceconfigured to render low frequency, mid-range frequency, and highfrequency audio content, and the playback device 110 i is a subwooferconfigured to render low frequency audio content. In some aspects, theplayback device 110 a, when bonded with the first playback device, isconfigured to render only the mid-range and high frequency components ofa particular audio content, while the playback device 110 i renders thelow frequency component of the particular audio content. In someembodiments, the bonded playback device 110 q includes additionalplayback devices and/or another bonded playback device. Additionalplayback device embodiments are described in further detail below withrespect to FIGS. 2A-3D.

c. Suitable Network Microphone Devices (NMDs)

FIG. 1F is a block diagram of the NMD 120 a (FIGS. 1A and 1B). The NMD120 a includes one or more voice processing components 124 (hereinafter“the voice components 124”) and several components described withrespect to the playback device 110 a (FIG. 1C) including the processors112 a, the memory 112 b, and the microphones 115. The NMD 120 aoptionally includes other components also included in the playbackdevice 110 a (FIG. 1C), such as the user interface 113 and/or thetransducers 114. In some embodiments, the NMD 120 a is configured as amedia playback device (e.g., one or more of the playback devices 110),and further includes, for example, one or more of the audio components112 g (FIG. 1C), the amplifiers 114, and/or other playback devicecomponents. In certain embodiments, the NMD 120 a includes an Internetof Things (IoT) device such as, for example, a thermostat, alarm panel,fire and/or smoke detector, etc. In some embodiments, the NMD 120 aincludes the microphones 115, the voice processing 124, and only aportion of the components of the electronics 112 described above withrespect to FIG. 1B. In some aspects, for example, the NMD 120 a includesthe processor 112 a and the memory 112 b (FIG. 1B), while omitting oneor more other components of the electronics 112. In some embodiments,the NMD 120 a includes additional components (e.g., one or more sensors,cameras, thermometers, barometers, hygrometers).

In some embodiments, an NMD can be integrated into a playback device.FIG. 1G is a block diagram of a playback device 110 r comprising an NMD120 d. The playback device 110 r can comprise many or all of thecomponents of the playback device 110 a and further include themicrophones 115 and voice processing 124 (FIG. 1F). The playback device110 r optionally includes an integrated control device 130 c. Thecontrol device 130 c can comprise, for example, a user interface (e.g.,the user interface 113 of FIG. 1B) configured to receive user input(e.g., touch input, voice input) without a separate control device. Inother embodiments, however, the playback device 110 r receives commandsfrom another control device (e.g., the control device 130 a of FIG. 1B).

Referring again to FIG. 1F, the microphones 115 are configured toacquire, capture, and/or receive sound from an environment (e.g., theenvironment 101 of FIG. 1A) and/or a room in which the NMD 120 a ispositioned. The received sound can include, for example, vocalutterances, audio played back by the NMD 120 a and/or another playbackdevice, background voices, ambient sounds, etc. The microphones 115convert the received sound into electrical signals to produce microphonedata. The voice processing 124 receives and analyzes the microphone datato determine whether a voice input is present in the microphone data.The voice input can comprise, for example, an activation word followedby an utterance including a user request. As those of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate, an activation word is a word or other audio cuethat signifying a user voice input. For instance, in querying theAMAZON® VAS, a user might speak the activation word “Alexa.” Otherexamples include “Ok, Google” for invoking the GOOGLE® VAS and “Hey,Siri” for invoking the APPLE® VAS.

After detecting the activation word, voice processing 124 monitors themicrophone data for an accompanying user request in the voice input. Theuser request may include, for example, a command to control athird-party device, such as a thermostat (e.g., NEST® thermostat), anillumination device (e.g., a PHILIPS HUE® lighting device), or a mediaplayback device (e.g., a Sonos® playback device). For example, a usermight speak the activation word “Alexa” followed by the utterance “setthe thermostat to 68 degrees” to set a temperature in a home (e.g., theenvironment 101 of FIG. 1A). The user might speak the same activationword followed by the utterance “turn on the living room” to turn onillumination devices in a living room area of the home. The user maysimilarly speak an activation word followed by a request to play aparticular song, an album, or a playlist of music on a playback devicein the home. Additional description regarding receiving and processingvoice input data can be found in further detail below with respect toFIGS. 3A-3F.

d. Suitable Control Devices

FIG. 1H is a partially schematic diagram of the control device 130 a(FIGS. 1A and 1B). As used herein, the term “control device” can be usedinterchangeably with “controller” or “control system.” Among otherfeatures, the control device 130 a is configured to receive user inputrelated to the media playback system 100 and, in response, cause one ormore devices in the media playback system 100 to perform an action(s) oroperation(s) corresponding to the user input. In the illustratedembodiment, the control device 130 a includes a smartphone (e.g., aniPhone™, an Android phone) on which media playback system controllerapplication software is installed. In some embodiments, the controldevice 130 a includes, for example, a tablet (e.g., an iPad™), acomputer (e.g., a laptop computer, a desktop computer), and/or anothersuitable device (e.g., a television, an automobile audio head unit, anIoT device). In certain embodiments, the control device 130 a includes adedicated controller for the media playback system 100. In otherembodiments, as described above with respect to FIG. 1G, the controldevice 130 a is integrated into another device in the media playbacksystem 100 (e.g., one more of the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/orother suitable devices configured to communicate over a network).

The control device 130 a includes electronics 132, a user interface 133,one or more speakers 134, and one or more microphones 135. Theelectronics 132 comprise one or more processors 132 a (referred tohereinafter as “the processors 132 a”), a memory 132 b, softwarecomponents 132 c, and a network interface 132 d. The processor 132 a canbe configured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access,control, and configuration of the media playback system 100. The memory132 b can comprise data storage that can be loaded with one or more ofthe software components executable by the processor 302 to perform thosefunctions. The software components 132 c can comprise applicationsand/or other executable software configured to facilitate control of themedia playback system 100. The memory 112 b can be configured to store,for example, the software components 132 c, media playback systemcontroller application software, and/or other data associated with themedia playback system 100 and the user.

The network interface 132 d is configured to facilitate networkcommunications between the control device 130 a and one or more otherdevices in the media playback system 100, and/or one or more remotedevices. In some embodiments, the network interface 132 is configured tooperate according to one or more suitable communication industrystandards (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G, LTE). The network interface 132 d can beconfigured, for example, to transmit data to and/or receive data fromthe playback devices 110, the NMDs 120, other ones of the controldevices 130, one of the computing devices 106 of FIG. 1B, devicescomprising one or more other media playback systems, etc. Thetransmitted and/or received data can include, for example, playbackdevice control commands, state variables, playback zone and/or zonegroup configurations. For instance, based on user input received at theuser interface 133, the network interface 132 d can transmit a playbackdevice control command (e.g., volume control, audio playback control,audio content selection) from the control device 304 to one or more ofthe playback devices 100. The network interface 132 d can also transmitand/or receive configuration changes such as, for example,adding/removing one or more playback devices 100 to/from a zone,adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forming a bondedor consolidated player, separating one or more playback devices from abonded or consolidated player, among others. Additional description ofzones and groups can be found below with respect to FIGS. 1-I through1M.

The user interface 133 is configured to receive user input and canfacilitate control of the media playback system 100. The user interface133 includes media content art 133 a (e.g., album art, lyrics, videos),a playback status indicator 133 b (e.g., an elapsed and/or remainingtime indicator), media content information region 133 c, a playbackcontrol region 133 d, and a zone indicator 133 e. The media contentinformation region 133 c can include a display of relevant information(e.g., title, artist, album, genre, release year) about media contentcurrently playing and/or media content in a queue or playlist. Theplayback control region 133 d can include selectable (e.g., via touchinput and/or via a cursor or another suitable selector) icons to causeone or more playback devices in a selected playback zone or zone groupto perform playback actions such as, for example, play or pause, fastforward, rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shufflemode, enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode, etc. Theplayback control region 133 d may also include selectable icons tomodify equalization settings, playback volume, and/or other suitableplayback actions. In the illustrated embodiment, the user interface 133includes a display presented on a touch screen interface of a smartphone(e.g., an iPhone™, an Android phone). In some embodiments, however, userinterfaces of varying formats, styles, and interactive sequences mayalternatively be implemented on one or more network devices to providecomparable control access to a media playback system.

The one or more speakers 134 (e.g., one or more transducers) can beconfigured to output sound to the user of the control device 130 a. Insome embodiments, the one or more speakers comprise individualtransducers configured to correspondingly output low frequencies,mid-range frequencies, and/or high frequencies. In some aspects, forexample, the control device 130 a is configured as a playback device(e.g., one of the playback devices 110). Similarly, in some embodimentsthe control device 130 a is configured as an NMD (e.g., one of the NMDs120), receiving voice commands and other sounds via the one or moremicrophones 135.

The one or more microphones 135 can comprise, for example, one or morecondenser microphones, electret condenser microphones, dynamicmicrophones, and/or other suitable types of microphones or transducers.In some embodiments, two or more of the microphones 135 are arranged tocapture location information of an audio source (e.g., voice, audiblesound) and/or configured to facilitate filtering of background noise.Moreover, in certain embodiments, the control device 130 a is configuredto operate as playback device and an NMD. In other embodiments, however,the control device 130 a omits the one or more speakers 134 and/or theone or more microphones 135. For instance, the control device 130 a maycomprise a device (e.g., a thermostat, an IoT device, a network device)comprising a portion of the electronics 132 and the user interface 133(e.g., a touch screen) without any speakers or microphones. Additionalcontrol device embodiments are described in further detail below withrespect to FIGS. 4A-4D and 5.

e. Suitable Playback Device Configurations

FIGS. 1-1 through 1M show example configurations of playback devices inzones and zone groups. Referring first to FIG. 1M, in one example, asingle playback device may belong to a zone. For example, the playbackdevice 110 g in the second bedroom 101 c (FIG. 1A) may belong to Zone C.In some implementations described below, multiple playback devices maybe “bonded” to form a “bonded pair” which together form a single zone.For example, the playback device 110 l (e.g., a left playback device)can be bonded to the playback device 110 l (e.g., a left playbackdevice) to form Zone A. Bonded playback devices may have differentplayback responsibilities (e.g., channel responsibilities). In anotherimplementation described below, multiple playback devices may be mergedto form a single zone. For example, the playback device 110 h (e.g., afront playback device) may be merged with the playback device 110 i(e.g., a subwoofer), and the playback devices 110 j and 110 k (e.g.,left and right surround speakers, respectively) to form a single Zone D.In another example, the playback devices 110 g and 110 h can be mergedto form a merged group or a zone group 108 b. The merged playbackdevices 110 g and 110 h may not be specifically assigned differentplayback responsibilities. That is, the merged playback devices 110 hand 110 i may, aside from playing audio content in synchrony, each playaudio content as they would if they were not merged.

Each zone in the media playback system 100 may be provided for controlas a single user interface (UI) entity. For example, Zone A may beprovided as a single entity named Master Bathroom. Zone B may beprovided as a single entity named Master Bedroom. Zone C may be providedas a single entity named Second Bedroom.

Playback devices that are bonded may have different playbackresponsibilities, such as responsibilities for certain audio channels.For example, as shown in FIG. 1-I, the playback devices 110 l and 110 mmay be bonded so as to produce or enhance a stereo effect of audiocontent. In this example, the playback device 110 l may be configured toplay a left channel audio component, while the playback device 110 k maybe configured to play a right channel audio component. In someimplementations, such stereo bonding may be referred to as “pairing.”

Additionally, bonded playback devices may have additional and/ordifferent respective speaker drivers. As shown in FIG. 1J, the playbackdevice 110 h named Front may be bonded with the playback device 110 inamed SUB. The Front device 110 h can be configured to render a range ofmid to high frequencies and the SUB device 110 i can be configuredrender low frequencies. When unbonded, however, the Front device 110 hcan be configured render a full range of frequencies. As anotherexample, FIG. 1K shows the Front and SUB devices 110 h and 110 i furtherbonded with Left and Right playback devices 110 j and 110 k,respectively. In some implementations, the Right and Left devices 110 jand 102 k can be configured to form surround or “satellite” channels ofa home theater system. The bonded playback devices 110 h, 110 i, 110 j,and 110 k may form a single Zone D (FIG. 1M).

Playback devices that are merged may not have assigned playbackresponsibilities, and may each render the full range of audio contentthe respective playback device is capable of. Nevertheless, mergeddevices may be represented as a single UI entity (i.e., a zone, asdiscussed above). For instance, the playback devices 110 a and 110 n themaster bathroom have the single UI entity of Zone A. In one embodiment,the playback devices 110 a and 110 n may each output the full range ofaudio content each respective playback devices 110 a and 110 n arecapable of, in synchrony.

In some embodiments, an NMD is bonded or merged with another device soas to form a zone. For example, the NMD 120 b may be bonded with theplayback device 110 e, which together form Zone F, named Living Room. Inother embodiments, a stand-alone network microphone device may be in azone by itself. In other embodiments, however, a stand-alone networkmicrophone device may not be associated with a zone. Additional detailsregarding associating network microphone devices and playback devices asdesignated or default devices may be found, for example, in previouslyreferenced U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/438,749.

Zones of individual, bonded, and/or merged devices may be grouped toform a zone group. For example, referring to FIG. 1M, Zone A may begrouped with Zone B to form a zone group 108 a that includes the twozones. Similarly, Zone G may be grouped with Zone H to form the zonegroup 108 b. As another example, Zone A may be grouped with one or moreother Zones C-I. The Zones A-I may be grouped and ungrouped in numerousways. For example, three, four, five, or more (e.g., all) of the ZonesA-I may be grouped. When grouped, the zones of individual and/or bondedplayback devices may play back audio in synchrony with one another, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395. Playbackdevices may be dynamically grouped and ungrouped to form new ordifferent groups that synchronously play back audio content.

In various implementations, the zones in an environment may be thedefault name of a zone within the group or a combination of the names ofthe zones within a zone group. For example, Zone Group 108 b can have beassigned a name such as “Dining+Kitchen”, as shown in FIG. 1M. In someembodiments, a zone group may be given a unique name selected by a user.

Certain data may be stored in a memory of a playback device (e.g., thememory 112 c of FIG. 1C) as one or more state variables that areperiodically updated and used to describe the state of a playback zone,the playback device(s), and/or a zone group associated therewith. Thememory may also include the data associated with the state of the otherdevices of the media system, and shared from time to time among thedevices so that one or more of the devices have the most recent dataassociated with the system.

In some embodiments, the memory may store instances of various variabletypes associated with the states. Variables instances may be stored withidentifiers (e.g., tags) corresponding to type. For example, certainidentifiers may be a first type “a1” to identify playback device(s) of azone, a second type “b1” to identify playback device(s) that may bebonded in the zone, and a third type “c1” to identify a zone group towhich the zone may belong. As a related example, identifiers associatedwith the second bedroom 101 c may indicate that the playback device isthe only playback device of the Zone C and not in a zone group.Identifiers associated with the Den may indicate that the Den is notgrouped with other zones but includes bonded playback devices 110 h-110k. Identifiers associated with the Dining Room may indicate that theDining Room is part of the Dining+Kitchen zone group 108 b and thatdevices 110 b and 110 d are grouped (FIG. 1L). Identifiers associatedwith the Kitchen may indicate the same or similar information by virtueof the Kitchen being part of the Dining+Kitchen zone group 108 b. Otherexample zone variables and identifiers are described below.

In yet another example, the media playback system 100 may storevariables or identifiers representing other associations of zones andzone groups, such as identifiers associated with Areas, as shown in FIG.1M. An area may involve a cluster of zone groups and/or zones not withina zone group. For instance, FIG. 1M shows an Upper Area 109 a includingZones A-D, and a Lower Area 109 b including Zones E-I. In one aspect, anArea may be used to invoke a cluster of zone groups and/or zones thatshare one or more zones and/or zone groups of another cluster. Inanother aspect, this differs from a zone group, which does not share azone with another zone group. Further examples of techniques forimplementing Areas may be found, for example, in U.S. application Ser.No. 15/682,506 filed Aug. 21, 2017 and titled “Room Association Based onName,” and U.S. Pat. No. 8,483,853 filed Sep. 11, 2007, and titled“Controlling and manipulating groupings in a multi-zone media system.”Each of these applications is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. In some embodiments, the media playback system 100 might notimplement Areas, in which case the system may not store variablesassociated with Areas.

In further examples, the playback devices 110 of the media playbacksystem 100 are named and arranged according to a control hierarchyreferred to as home graph. Under the home graph hierarchy, the base unitof the home graph hierarchy is a “Set.” A “Set” refers to an individualdevice or multiple devices that operate together in performing a givenfunction, such as an individual playback device 110 or a bonded zone ofplayback devices. After Sets, the next level of the hierarchy is a“Room.” Under the home graph hierarchy, a “Room” can be considered acontainer for Sets in a given room of a home. For example, an exampleRoom might correspond to the kitchen of a home, and be assigned the name“Kitchen” and include one or more Sets (e.g. “Kitchen Island”). The nextlevel of the example home graph hierarchy is “Area,” which includes twoor more Rooms (e.g., “Upstairs” or “Downstairs”). The highest level ofthe home graph hierarchy is “Home.” A Home refers to the entire home,and all of the Sets within. Each level of the home graph hierarchy isassigned a human-readable name, which facilities control via GUI andVUI. Additional details regarding the home graph control hierarchy canbe found, for example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/216,357entitled, “Home Graph,” which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

III. Example Systems and Devices

FIG. 2A is a front isometric view of a playback device 210 configured inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed technology. FIG. 2B is a frontisometric view of the playback device 210 without a grille 216 e. FIG.2C is an exploded view of the playback device 210. Referring to FIGS.2A-2C together, the playback device 210 includes a housing 216 thatincludes an upper portion 216 a, a right or first side portion 216 b, alower portion 216 c, a left or second side portion 216 d, the grille 216e, and a rear portion 216 f. A plurality of fasteners 216 g (e.g., oneor more screws, rivets, clips) attaches a frame 216 h to the housing216. A cavity 216 j (FIG. 2C) in the housing 216 is configured toreceive the frame 216 h and electronics 212. The frame 216 h isconfigured to carry a plurality of transducers 214 (identifiedindividually in FIG. 2B as transducers 214 a-f). The electronics 212(e.g., the electronics 112 of FIG. 1C) is configured to receive audiocontent from an audio source and send electrical signals correspondingto the audio content to the transducers 214 for playback.

The transducers 214 are configured to receive the electrical signalsfrom the electronics 112, and further configured to convert the receivedelectrical signals into audible sound during playback. For instance, thetransducers 214 a-c (e.g., tweeters) can be configured to output highfrequency sound (e.g., sound waves having a frequency greater than about2 kHz). The transducers 214 d-f (e.g., mid-woofers, woofers, midrangespeakers) can be configured output sound at frequencies lower than thetransducers 214 a-c (e.g., sound waves having a frequency lower thanabout 2 kHz). In some embodiments, the playback device 210 includes anumber of transducers different than those illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2C.For example, the playback device 210 can include fewer than sixtransducers (e.g., one, two, three). In other embodiments, however, theplayback device 210 includes more than six transducers (e.g., nine,ten). Moreover, in some embodiments, all or a portion of the transducers214 are configured to operate as a phased array to desirably adjust(e.g., narrow or widen) a radiation pattern of the transducers 214,thereby altering a user's perception of the sound emitted from theplayback device 210.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 2A-2C, a filter 216 i is axiallyaligned with the transducer 214 b. The filter 216 i can be configured todesirably attenuate a predetermined range of frequencies that thetransducer 214 b outputs to improve sound quality and a perceived soundstage output collectively by the transducers 214. In some embodiments,however, the playback device 210 omits the filter 216 i. In otherembodiments, the playback device 210 includes one or more additionalfilters aligned with the transducers 214 b and/or at least another ofthe transducers 214.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are front and right isometric side views, respectively,of an NMD 320 configured in accordance with embodiments of the disclosedtechnology. FIG. 3C is an exploded view of the NMD 320. FIG. 3D is anenlarged view of a portion of FIG. 3B including a user interface 313 ofthe NMD 320. Referring first to FIGS. 3A-3C, the NMD 320 includes ahousing 316 comprising an upper portion 316 a, a lower portion 316 b andan intermediate portion 316 c (e.g., a grille). A plurality of ports,holes or apertures 316 d in the upper portion 316 a allow sound to passthrough to one or more microphones 315 (FIG. 3C) positioned within thehousing 316. The one or more microphones 316 are configured to receivedsound via the apertures 316 d and produce electrical signals based onthe received sound. In the illustrated embodiment, a frame 316 e (FIG.3C) of the housing 316 surrounds cavities 316 f and 316 g configured tohouse, respectively, a first transducer 314 a (e.g., a tweeter) and asecond transducer 314 b (e.g., a mid-woofer, a midrange speaker, awoofer). In other embodiments, however, the NMD 320 includes a singletransducer, or more than two (e.g., two, five, six) transducers. Incertain embodiments, the NMD 320 omits the transducers 314 a and 314 baltogether.

Electronics 312 (FIG. 3C) includes components configured to drive thetransducers 314 a and 314 b, and further configured to analyze audiodata corresponding to the electrical signals produced by the one or moremicrophones 315. In some embodiments, for example, the electronics 312comprises many or all of the components of the electronics 112 describedabove with respect to FIG. 1C. In certain embodiments, the electronics312 includes components described above with respect to FIG. 1F such as,for example, the one or more processors 112 a, the memory 112 b, thesoftware components 112 c, the network interface 112 d, etc. In someembodiments, the electronics 312 includes additional suitable components(e.g., proximity or other sensors).

Referring to FIG. 3D, the user interface 313 includes a plurality ofcontrol surfaces (e.g., buttons, knobs, capacitive surfaces) including afirst control surface 313 a (e.g., a previous control), a second controlsurface 313 b (e.g., a next control), and a third control surface 313 c(e.g., a play and/or pause control). A fourth control surface 313 d isconfigured to receive touch input corresponding to activation anddeactivation of the one or microphones 315. A first indicator 313 e(e.g., one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) or another suitableilluminator) can be configured to illuminate only when the one or moremicrophones 315 are activated. A second indicator 313 f (e.g., one ormore LEDs) can be configured to remain solid during normal operation andto blink or otherwise change from solid to indicate a detection of voiceactivity. In some embodiments, the user interface 313 includesadditional or fewer control surfaces and illuminators. In oneembodiment, for example, the user interface 313 includes the firstindicator 313 e, omitting the second indicator 313 f Moreover, incertain embodiments, the NMD 320 comprises a playback device and acontrol device, and the user interface 313 comprises the user interfaceof the control device.

Referring to FIGS. 3A-3D together, the NMD 320 is configured to receivevoice commands from one or more adjacent users via the one or moremicrophones 315. As described above with respect to FIG. 1B, the one ormore microphones 315 can acquire, capture, or record sound in a vicinity(e.g., a region within 10 m or less of the NMD 320) and transmitelectrical signals corresponding to the recorded sound to theelectronics 312. The electronics 312 can process the electrical signalsand can analyze the resulting audio data to determine a presence of oneor more voice commands (e.g., one or more activation words). In someembodiments, for example, after detection of one or more suitable voicecommands, the NMD 320 is configured to transmit a portion of therecorded audio data to another device and/or a remote server (e.g., oneor more of the computing devices 106 of FIG. 1B) for further analysis.The remote server can analyze the audio data, determine an appropriateaction based on the voice command, and transmit a message to the NMD 320to perform the appropriate action. For instance, a user may speak“Sonos, play Michael Jackson.” The NMD 320 can, via the one or moremicrophones 315, record the user's voice utterance, determine thepresence of a voice command, and transmit the audio data having thevoice command to a remote server (e.g., one or more of the remotecomputing devices 106 of FIG. 1B, one or more servers of a VAS and/oranother suitable service). The remote server can analyze the audio dataand determine an action corresponding to the command. The remote servercan then transmit a command to the NMD 320 to perform the determinedaction (e.g., play back audio content related to Michael Jackson). TheNMD 320 can receive the command and play back the audio content relatedto Michael Jackson from a media content source. As described above withrespect to FIG. 1B, suitable content sources can include a device orstorage communicatively coupled to the NMD 320 via a LAN (e.g., thenetwork 104 of FIG. 1B), a remote server (e.g., one or more of theremote computing devices 106 of FIG. 1B), etc. In certain embodiments,however, the NMD 320 determines and/or performs one or more actionscorresponding to the one or more voice commands without intervention orinvolvement of an external device, computer, or server.

FIGS. 4A-4D are schematic diagrams of a control device 430 (e.g., thecontrol device 130 a of FIG. 1H, a smartphone, a tablet, a dedicatedcontrol device, an IoT device, and/or another suitable device) showingcorresponding user interface displays in various states of operation. Afirst user interface display 431 a (FIG. 4A) includes a display name 433a (i.e., “Rooms”). A selected group region 433 b displays audio contentinformation (e.g., artist name, track name, album art) of audio contentplayed back in the selected group and/or zone. Group regions 433 c and433 d display corresponding group and/or zone name, and audio contentinformation audio content played back or next in a playback queue of therespective group or zone. An audio content region 433 e includesinformation related to audio content in the selected group and/or zone(i.e., the group and/or zone indicated in the selected group region 433b). A lower display region 433 f is configured to receive touch input todisplay one or more other user interface displays. For example, if auser selects “Browse” in the lower display region 433 f, the controldevice 430 can be configured to output a second user interface display431 b (FIG. 4B) comprising a plurality of music services 433 g (e.g.,Spotify, Radio by Tunein, Apple Music, Pandora, Amazon, TV, local music,line-in) through which the user can browse and from which the user canselect media content for play back via one or more playback devices(e.g., one of the playback devices 110 of FIG. 1A). Alternatively, ifthe user selects “My Sonos” in the lower display region 433 f, thecontrol device 430 can be configured to output a third user interfacedisplay 431 c (FIG. 4C). A first media content region 433 h can includegraphical representations (e.g., album art) corresponding to individualalbums, stations, or playlists. A second media content region 433 i caninclude graphical representations (e.g., album art) corresponding toindividual songs, tracks, or other media content. If the user selectionsa graphical representation 433 j (FIG. 4C), the control device 430 canbe configured to begin play back of audio content corresponding to thegraphical representation 433 j and output a fourth user interfacedisplay 431 d fourth user interface display 431 d includes an enlargedversion of the graphical representation 433 j, media content information433 k (e.g., track name, artist, album), transport controls 433 m (e.g.,play, previous, next, pause, volume), and indication 433 n of thecurrently selected group and/or zone name.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a control device 530 (e.g., a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer). The control device 530 includestransducers 534, a microphone 535, and a camera 536. A user interface531 includes a transport control region 533 a, a playback status region533 b, a playback zone region 533 c, a playback queue region 533 d, anda media content source region 533 e. The transport control regionincludes one or more controls for controlling media playback including,for example, volume, previous, play/pause, next, repeat, shuffle, trackposition, crossfade, equalization, etc. The audio content source region533 e includes a listing of one or more media content sources from whicha user can select media items for play back and/or adding to a playbackqueue.

The playback zone region 533 b can include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 100 (FIGS. 1A and 1B). In someembodiments, the graphical representations of playback zones may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage orconfigure the playback zones in the media playback system, such as acreation of bonded zones, creation of zone groups, separation of zonegroups, renaming of zone groups, etc. In the illustrated embodiment, a“group” icon is provided within each of the graphical representations ofplayback zones. The “group” icon provided within a graphicalrepresentation of a particular zone may be selectable to bring upoptions to select one or more other zones in the media playback systemto be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped, playback devicesin the zones that have been grouped with the particular zone can beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony with the playbackdevice(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” icon may beprovided within a graphical representation of a zone group. In theillustrated embodiment, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring upoptions to deselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removedfrom the zone group. In some embodiments, the control device 530includes other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via the user interface 531. In certain embodiments, therepresentations of playback zones in the playback zone region 533 b canbe dynamically updated as playback zone or zone group configurations aremodified.

The playback status region 533 c includes graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 533 b and/orthe playback queue region 533 d. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system 100 via the user interface531.

The playback queue region 533 d includes graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device. In someembodiments, for example, a playlist can be added to a playback queue,in which information corresponding to each audio item in the playlistmay be added to the playback queue. In some embodiments, audio items ina playback queue may be saved as a playlist. In certain embodiments, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In some embodiments, a playback queue can include Internetradio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “in use” whenthe playback zone or zone group is playing those items.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped.

FIG. 6 is a message flow diagram illustrating data exchanges betweendevices of the media playback system 100 (FIGS. 1A-1M).

At step 650 a, the media playback system 100 receives an indication ofselected media content (e.g., one or more songs, albums, playlists,podcasts, videos, stations) via the control device 130 a. The selectedmedia content can comprise, for example, media items stored locally onor more devices (e.g., the audio source 105 of FIG. 1C) connected to themedia playback system and/or media items stored on one or more mediaservice servers (one or more of the remote computing devices 106 of FIG.1B). In response to receiving the indication of the selected mediacontent, the control device 130 a transmits a message 651 a to theplayback device 110 a (FIGS. 1A-1C) to add the selected media content toa playback queue on the playback device 110 a.

At step 650 b, the playback device 110 a receives the message 651 a andadds the selected media content to the playback queue for play back.

At step 650 c, the control device 130 a receives input corresponding toa command to play back the selected media content. In response toreceiving the input corresponding to the command to play back theselected media content, the control device 130 a transmits a message 651b to the playback device 110 a causing the playback device 110 a to playback the selected media content. In response to receiving the message651 b, the playback device 110 a transmits a message 651 c to thecomputing device 106 a requesting the selected media content. Thecomputing device 106 a, in response to receiving the message 651 c,transmits a message 651 d comprising data (e.g., audio data, video data,a URL, a URI) corresponding to the requested media content.

At step 650 d, the playback device 110 a receives the message 651 d withthe data corresponding to the requested media content and plays back theassociated media content.

At step 650 e, the playback device 110 a optionally causes one or moreother devices to play back the selected media content. In one example,the playback device 110 a is one of a bonded zone of two or more players(FIG. 1M). The playback device 110 a can receive the selected mediacontent and transmit all or a portion of the media content to otherdevices in the bonded zone. In another example, the playback device 110a is a coordinator of a group and is configured to transmit and receivetiming information from one or more other devices in the group. Theother one or more devices in the group can receive the selected mediacontent from the computing device 106 a, and begin playback of theselected media content in response to a message from the playback device110 a such that all of the devices in the group play back the selectedmedia content in synchrony.

III. Example Portable Playback Device

As noted above, certain playback device implementations may beconfigured for portable use. FIG. 7A is a partial cutaway view of themedia playback system 100 with the inclusion of one or more portableplayback devices 710 (identified individually as portable playbackdevices 710 a, 710 b, and 710 c). The portable playback devices 710 aresimilar to the playback devices 110, but are configured for portableuse. While they are shown in the home in FIG. 7A, the portable playbackdevices 710 are configured to play back audio content while in the homeand while “on the go.”

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 7B, a portable playback device 710a includes the same or similar components as the playback device 110 a.However, to facilitate portable use, the playback device 710 a may beimplemented in a certain form factor (e.g., headphones or earbuds) andincludes one or more batteries in power 712 i to provide portable power.

Referring to FIG. 7B, the portable playback device 710 a includes aninput/output 711, which can include an analog I/O 711 a and/or a digitalI/O 711 b similar to the components of the playback device 110. Tofacilitate portable usage, the input/output 711 of the portable playbackdevice 710 a may include an interface (such as a Bluetooth interface) tofacilitate connection to a bridge device (e.g., a mobile device), whichthe portable playback device 710 a may use to stream audio content andotherwise communicate with the bridge device.

The playback device 710 a further includes electronics 712, a userinterface 713 (e.g., one or more buttons, knobs, dials, touch-sensitivesurfaces, displays, touchscreens), and one or more transducers 714(referred to hereinafter as “the transducers 714”). The electronics 712is configured to receive audio from an audio source via the input/output711, one or more of the computing devices 106 a-c via the network 104(FIG. 1B)), amplify the received audio, and output the amplified audiofor playback via one or more of the transducers 714. In someembodiments, the playback device 710 a includes one or more microphones715 (e.g., a single microphone, a plurality of microphones, a microphonearray) (hereinafter referred to as “the microphones 715”). In certainembodiments, for example, the playback device 110 a having one or moreof the microphones 715 can operate as an NMD configured to receive voiceinput from a user and correspondingly perform one or more operationsbased on the received voice input.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 7B, the electronics 712 includeone or more processors 712 a (referred to hereinafter as “the processors112 a”), memory 712 b, software components 712 c, a network interface712 d, one or more audio processing components 712 g (referred tohereinafter as “the audio components 712 g”), one or more audioamplifiers 712 h (referred to hereinafter as “the amplifiers 712 h”),and power 712 i (e.g., one or more power supplies, power cables, powerreceptacles, batteries, induction coils, Power-over Ethernet (POE)interfaces, and/or other suitable sources of electric power). In someembodiments, the electronics 712 optionally include one or more othercomponents 712 j (e.g., one or more sensors, video displays,touchscreens).

The network interface 712 d is configured to facilitate a transmissionof data between the playback device 710 a and one or more other deviceson a data network such as, for example, the links 103 and/or the network104 (FIG. 1B). The network interface 712 d is configured to transmit andreceive data corresponding to media content (e.g., audio content, videocontent, text, photographs) and other signals (e.g., non-transitorysignals) comprising digital packet data including an Internet Protocol(IP)-based source address and/or an IP-based destination address. Thenetwork interface 712 d can parse the digital packet data such that theelectronics 712 properly receives and processes the data destined forthe playback device 110 a.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 7B, the network interface 712 dincludes one or more wireless interfaces 712 e (referred to hereinafteras “the wireless interface 712 e”). The wireless interface 712 e (e.g.,a suitable interface comprising one or more antennae) can be configuredto wirelessly communicate with one or more other devices (e.g., one ormore of the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, control devices 130, otherportable playback devices 710, as well as other devices disclosedherein, such as bridge devices) that are communicatively coupled to thenetwork 104 (FIG. 1B) in accordance with a suitable wirelesscommunication protocol (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE). In someembodiments, the network interface 712 d optionally includes a wiredinterface 712 f (e.g., an interface or receptacle configured to receivea network cable such as an Ethernet, a USB-A, USB-C, and/or Thunderboltcable) configured to communicate over a wired connection with otherdevices in accordance with a suitable wired communication protocol. Insome embodiments, the electronics 712 excludes the network interface 712d altogether and transmits and receives media content and/or other datavia another communication path (e.g., the input/output 711).

The audio components 712 g are configured to process and/or filter datacomprising media content received by the electronics 712 (e.g., via theinput/output 711 and/or the network interface 712 d) to produce outputaudio signals. In some embodiments, the audio processing components 712g comprise, for example, one or more digital-to-analog converters (DAC),audio preprocessing components, audio enhancement components, a digitalsignal processors (DSPs), and/or other suitable audio processingcomponents, modules, circuits, etc. In certain embodiments, one or moreof the audio processing components 712 g can comprise one or moresubcomponents of the processors 712 a. In some embodiments, theelectronics 712 omits the audio processing components 712 g. In someaspects, for example, the processors 712 a execute instructions storedon the memory 712 b to perform audio processing operations to producethe output audio signals.

The amplifiers 712 h are configured to receive and amplify the audiooutput signals produced by the audio processing components 712 g and/orthe processors 712 a. The amplifiers 7712 h can comprise electronicdevices and/or components configured to amplify audio signals to levelssufficient for driving one or more of the transducers 714. In someembodiments, for example, the amplifiers 712 h include one or moreswitching or class-D power amplifiers. In other embodiments, however,the amplifiers include one or more other types of power amplifiers(e.g., linear gain power amplifiers, class-A amplifiers, class-Bamplifiers, class-AB amplifiers, class-C amplifiers, class-D amplifiers,class-E amplifiers, class-F amplifiers, class-G and/or class Hamplifiers, and/or another suitable type of power amplifier). In certainembodiments, the amplifiers 712 h comprise a suitable combination of twoor more of the foregoing types of power amplifiers. Moreover, in someembodiments, individual ones of the amplifiers 712 h correspond toindividual ones of the transducers 714. In other embodiments, however,the electronics 712 includes a single one of the amplifiers 712 hconfigured to output amplified audio signals to a plurality of thetransducers 714.

The transducers 714 (e.g., one or more speakers and/or speaker drivers)receive the amplified audio signals from the amplifier 712 h and renderor output the amplified audio signals as sound (e.g., audible soundwaves having a frequency between about 20 Hertz (Hz) and 20 kilohertz(kHz)). In some embodiments, the transducers 714 can comprise a singletransducer. In other embodiments, however, the transducers 714 comprisea plurality of audio transducers. In some embodiments, the transducers714 comprise more than one type of transducer. For example, thetransducers 714 can include one or more low frequency transducers (e.g.,subwoofers, woofers), mid-range frequency transducers (e.g., mid-rangetransducers, mid-woofers), and one or more high frequency transducers(e.g., one or more tweeters).

Within example implementations, the playback device 710 may operate inone of a first mode and a second mode. In the first mode, the playbackdevice 710 operates independently of the media playback system 100.While in the second mode, the playback device 710 operates as part ofthe media playback system 100. Generally, the playback device 710operates in the first mode while in the physical proximity of the mediaplayback system 100 (e.g., while in the home) to facilitateinteroperability with the playback device 110 a-n of the media playbacksystem 100 and operates in the second mode while “on the go,” but theplayback device 710 may also be operable in the second mode while in thephysical proximity of the media playback system 100. The portableplayback device 710 may switch between modes manually (e.g., via userinput to a user interface 713) or automatically (e.g., based onproximity to one or more playback devices 110 a-n).

In the first mode, the portable playback device 710 may interface withother devices of the media playback system 100. For instance, theportable playback device 710 may form synchrony groupings or otherarrangements with the playback devices 110 a-n and/or other portableplayback devices 710 in the first mode. Further, in the first mode, theportable playback device 710 may be controlled by the control device(s)130 in the same or similar manner as the playback device(s) 110.

In the second mode, rather than operating as one playback device of themedia playback system 100, the portable playback device 710 operatesindependently. As noted above, this mode can be utilized “on the go” tofacilitate playback away from the media playback system 100. Further,this mode can be used in proximity to the media playback system 100,which may facilitate more private use of the portable playback device710 a.

FIG. 7C is a front isometric view of an example of a portable playbackdevice 710 a configured in accordance with aspects of the disclosedtechnology. As shown in FIG. 7C, the portable playback device 710 a isimplemented as headphones to facilitate private playback as comparedwith the out loud playback of the playback device(s) 110. As shown, theportable playback device 710 a (also referred to as headphones 710 a)includes a housing 716 a to support a pair of transducers 714 a on oraround the user's head and over the user's ears. The headphones 710 aalso include a user interface 713 a with a touch-sensitive region tofacilitate playback controls such as transport and/or volume controls.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are front isometric views of the portable playbackdevice 710 a configured in accordance with aspects of the disclosedtechnology. An example of the portable playback device 710 a includes afirst earcup 802 and a second earcup 804. Each earcup (802 and 804)includes a transducer 714 a. In an example, the second earcup 804includes one or more microphones 808 and one or more visual indicators810. In other examples, the microphones 808 and visual indicators 810are arranged on the first earcup 802 or on different earcups (802 and804).

Examples of the microphones 808 can be used for a variety of noisecapturing functions such as acoustic noise cancellation (ANC), ambientaudio pass-through, voice command capture, and telephony. As an example,ambient audio pass-through facilitates conveying ambient audio generatedfrom sources outside of the portable playback device 710 a to thetransducers of the portable playback device 710 a. In an example, one ormore of the microphones 808 are arranged on an exterior of the secondearcup 804. For instance, a first microphone 808A is arranged on anoutside housing of the second earcup 804. An example of the firstmicrophone 808A is configured to receive ambient noise that facilitatesthe performance of noise cancellation. A second microphone 808B isarranged on the outside of the second earcup 804. An example of thesecond microphone 808B facilitates receiving voice commands from a userof the portable playback device 710 a. In some cases, a singlemicrophone can facilitate the performance of one or more of noisecancellation operations, the receiving of voice commands, and thereceiving of audio for telephony.

In some examples, one or more other microphones 808 are arranged on aninterior of the second earcup 804. That is, the microphone(s) arearranged on the side of the earcup 804 that faces the user's ear andwhich cooperates with cushions 811 of the earcup 804 to encapsulate theuser's ear when the portable playback device 710 a is worn. Forinstance, in an example, a third microphone 808C is arranged within thesecond earcup 804. The third microphone 808C facilitates monitoringaudio signals communicated from a speaker of the portable playbackdevice 710 a and can further facilitate the performance of noisecancellation, ambient audio pass-through, audio equalization, etc.

Examples of the visual indicators 810 correspond to illumination devicessuch as a light-emitting diode (LED) or the like. In some examples, thevisual indicators 810 are configured to indicate different states. Forinstance, an example of a visual indicator includes a plurality ofdifferent colored LEDs (e.g., red, green, blue). Different colorcombinations can be activated to represent different states such as thecharging state and/or battery life of the portable device 710 a, whetherthe portable device 710 a is in communication with a network and/orpaired with other devices. In some examples, the visual indicators 810indicate whether one or more microphones 808 are actively monitoringaudio such as listening for voice commands, performing noisecancellation, etc.

In an example, one or more of the visual indicators 810 correspond toexterior visual indicators 810A and are arranged on an exterior of thesecond earcup 804. For instance, an example of the exterior visualindicator 810A indicates the charge state level (e.g., 50% full, 100%full) of the portable playback device 710 a. An example of the exteriorvisual indicator 810A indicates the network/pairing state (e.g.,Bluetooth® paired, WiFi Paired) of the playback device. In someinstances, a single exterior visual indicator 810 is used to representmultiple states, such as battery level, power state (e.g., on or off),pairing state, etc. The state can be represented by a particular color,flashing rate, or a combination of the two.

In an example, other visual indicators 810 correspond to interior visualindicators 810B and are arranged in or on a user-facing surface 807 ofan interior of the second earcup 804. That is, on the side of the earcup804 that faces the user's ear, and that cooperates with the cushions 811of the earcup 804 to encapsulate the user's ear when the portableplayback device 710 a is worn. In this configuration, when the portableplayback device 710 a is worn by the user, the interior visual indicator810B is concealed such that an outside observer cannot ascertain whetherthe interior visual indicator 810B is illuminated. On the other hand,when the portable playback device 710 a is, for example, laying on atable, the state of the interior visual indicator 810B (e.g.,illuminated or not) can be ascertained by an outside observer having aclear line of sight to the inside of the earcup 804.

In an example, the interior visual indicator 810B is hardwired tomicrophone circuitry coupled to the microphones 808 such that wheneverany of the microphones 808 are actively receiving and processing audiosignals, the interior visual indicator 810B is illuminated. For example,when any of the first microphone 808A, the second microphone 808B, orthe third microphone 808C described above is actively receiving andprocessing audio signals, the interior visual indicator 810B is in anilluminated state. When all of the microphones are deactivated, theinterior visual indicator 810B is in an unilluminated state. Hardwiringof the interior visual indicator 810B in this manner prevents activationof the microphones without simultaneous alerting of the user of theportable playback device 710 a that the microphones 808 are active. Forexample, the hardwiring as opposed to, for example, separate softwareactivation of the interior visual indicator 810B prevents maliciousactivation of the microphones 808 without the user's knowledge. In someexamples, the particular state that the interior visual indicator 810Bis in is independent of whether the portable playback device 710 a isbeing worn. That is, the interior visual indicator 810B remainsilluminated or unilluminated, as the case may be, regardless of whetherthe user is wearing the portable playback device 710 a.

As noted above, an example of the playback device 710 a can receive userinput (e.g., button press on the headphone, a command from a controldevice) that results in the muting or unmuting of the microphones 808.In response to receiving the user input, the microphone circuitry canmute or turn off one or more of the microphones 808. This, in turn,results in the interior visual indicator 810B being illuminated (i.e.,when unmuting) and becoming unilluminated (i.e., when muted).

FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view of an example of a portion of anearcup 804. The figure illustrates an example of a visual indicator 902that can correspond to the interior visual indicator 810B. In anexample, the visual indicator 902 corresponds to an LED. The visualindicator 902 is attached or coupled to a printed circuit board 904. Inan example, light for the visual indicator 902 is transmitted to theuser through an opening 906 in a speaker plate 908 of the earcup 804. Anexample of the speaker plate 908 corresponds to the user-facing surface807 described above. The speaker plate 908 is disposed over thetransducer 714 a. In an example, an insert 910 is placed in the opening906 that fills the opening 906. The visual indicator 902 may be alignedwith opening 906 such that the light from visual indicator 902 projectsthrough the insert 910 out of the earcup 804.

In an example, the insert 910 is formed from a material that is opaque,semi-transparent, or transparent to light to facilitate the transmissionof light through the insert 910. In an example, the material correspondsto clear silicon. In another example, the material corresponds to aclear polymer material. A sealant may be added between the insert 910and the speaker plate to acoustically seal the visual indicator 902. Theacoustic seal prevents acoustic leaks that may affect acousticperformance.

FIG. 9B illustrates a cross-sectional view of another example of aportion of an earcup 804. FIG. 9C illustrates a partial side-viewthereof without the cushions 811. As shown, the earcup 840 includes aring 952 between the user-facing surface 807 and the cushions 811. Avisual indicator 952 is provided in a section of the ring 952. Anexample, of the visual indicator 925 corresponds to any one of thevisual indicators described above. Providing the visual indicator 925within a side region, as shown, as opposed to within the user-facingsurface 807, further conceals the state of the visual indicator 925because the visual indicator 952 does not shine directly at the user.Rather, the light is directed towards the center of the earcup 804. Inan example, the visual indicator 952 corresponds to a light pipe inoptical communication with an LED. As shown in FIG. 9D, another exampleof the visual indicator 962 corresponds to a light pipe that extendsalong the entire inner circumference of the ring 952. In anotherexample, the light pipe can extend along a lesser portion of innercircumference of the ring 952.

FIG. 10A illustrates an example of microphone circuitry 1000 disposedwithin the portable playback device 710 a. Also illustrated is anexample of a power supply 1005 that supplies power via a first powersupply path 1008 to external visual indicator circuitry 1007, and thatsupplies power via a second power supply path 1009 to the microphonecircuitry 1000. The external visual indicator circuitry 1007 isconfigured to control and illuminate, for example, the exterior visualindicators 810A described above that are arranged on the exterior of thesecond earcup 804.

The microphone circuitry 1000 includes a group ofpre-amplifier/analog-to-digital (ADC) circuits 1020 and a visualindicator 1010. An example of the visual indicator 1010 corresponds tothe interior visual indicator 810B described above. In the examplemicrophone circuitry 1000, each pre-amp/ADC is coupled to a microphone808. For instance, in an example, a first pre-amp/ADC 1020A is coupledto a first microphone 808A, and the first microphone 808A is configuredto receive ambient noise that facilitates the performance of noisecancellation. A second pre-amp/ADC 1020B is coupled to a secondmicrophone 808B and the second microphone 808B facilitates receivingvoice commands from a user of the portable playback device 710 a. Athird pre-amp/ADC 1020C is coupled to a third microphone 808C, and thethird microphone 808C facilitates monitoring audio signals communicatedfrom a speaker of the portable playback device 710 a and can furtherfacilitate the performance of noise cancellation.

In the example microphone circuitry 1000, the visual indicator 1100corresponds to an LED, and the LED is coupled in series with the powersupply 1005 of the microphone circuitry 1000. In this manner, current isrequired to flow through the LED to facilitate the operation of thepreamp/ADC circuits 1020. This, in turn, ensures that the visualindicator 1010 is illuminated when any of the microphones is activelymonitoring audio.

FIG. 10B illustrates another example of microphone circuitry 1050. Themicrophone circuitry 1050 includes a group of preamp/ADC circuits 1020and a visual indicator 1012. In this example, the visual indicator 1012includes a group of LEDs, which facilitate indicating multiple states.For instance, in an example, each LED is coupled to a particularpreamp/ADC circuit 1020 and represents the state of that circuit. In anexample, each LED has a different color. This facilitates determiningwhich microphone is actively listening via a corresponding microphone1015.

Other examples of the microphone circuitry 1050 can represent the stateof the various microphones 808 differently. For instance, in anotherexample, a single LED is configured to flash at a periodic rate. Therate at which the LED flashes can indicate the state of the respectivemicrophones 808. For example, a slow rate can indicate that onemicrophone is actively listening, and a fast rate can indicate that allof the microphones are actively listening.

FIG. 10C illustrates another example of the microphone circuitry 1050.The microphone circuitry 1050 includes a group of preamp/ADC circuits1020, a visual indicator 1010, and a switch circuit 1025. The preamp/ADCcircuits 1020 and the visual indicator 1010 can correspond to thecorresponding elements described above. An example of the switch circuit1025 receives power from the power supply and selectively applies thepower to the visual indicator 1010, and the preamp/ADC circuits 1020responsive to a signal from a processor. In this example, whenever theprocessor attempts to control any of the preamp/ADC circuits 1020 tooperate, the visual indicator 1010 will be illuminated. For example, asoftware algorithm can control the processor to close the switch circuit1025 to power the preamp/ADC circuits 1020. Doing so will cause thevisual indicator 1010 to illuminate.

In some examples, the switch circuit 1025 includes a timer that operatesto deactivate the preamp/ADC circuits 1020 after a predetermined amountof time to prevent the monitoring of audio content received via themicrophones 808. In doing so, the visual indicator 1010 transitions toan unilluminated state. In some examples, the predetermined time is setby instruction code based on the type of audio content expected to bereceived. For example, the predetermined amount of time may be set toone hour or longer when noise cancellation is active. The predeterminedamount of time may be set to 10 seconds when the microphones arereceiving voice commands from the user. In some examples, the timercorresponds to a so-called watchdog timer that prevents continuousoperation of the microphone circuitry 1050 in the case where, forexample, the instruction code inadvertently leaves the microphonecircuitry 1050 in an operational state and receiving audio content.

FIG. 11 illustrates operations performed by an example of a portableplayback device 710 a. In this regard, the operations can be implementedvia instruction code, stored in a memory of the portable playback device710 a, that causes one or more processors of the portable playbackdevice to perform or assist in the performance of the variousoperations.

At block 1100, the portable playback device 710 a receives a poweractivation indication. For example, a user of the portable playbackdevice 710 a may, via a user interface of the portable playback device710 a, cause the portable playback device 710 a to be powered on tofacilitate playback of audio content. The audio content may be streamedvia WIFI, Bluetooth cellular, etc. The audio content may be communicatedvia a patch cord (e.g., 3.5 mm audio cable, data cable) that couples theportable playback device 710 a to an audio content source, such as aHiFi receiver or a data interface providing audio data (e.g., UniversalSerial Bus (USB)).

At block 1105, in response to receiving the power activation indication,power is supplied to at least one external visual indicator disposed onan outward-facing portion of an earcup of the portable playback device710 a via a first power supply path 1008 of the portable playback device710 a. For example, after receiving the power activation, the firstvisual indicator described above can be illuminated to indicate that theportable playback device 710 a is powered on.

At block 1110, a microphone activation indication associated with atleast one microphone of the portable playback device 710 a is receivedby the portable playback device 710 a. For example, the user of theportable playback device 710 a may, via the user interface of theportable playback device 710 a, control the portable playback device 710a to receive and processes a voice command. The user of the portableplayback device 710 a may activate noise cancellation.

In some examples, the microphone activation indication may occur by wayof a controller in communication with the portable playback device 710 athat includes a user interface with user interface elements thatfacilitate activation of at least one microphone. For example, the usermay activate noise cancellation of the portable playback device via anapp operating on a mobile device. The user may initiate or receive aphone call on a mobile device that is paired to the portable playbackdevice 710, which causes at least one microphone to be activated.

At block 1115, microphone circuitry associated with the microphone maybe activated in response to receiving the microphone activationindication. For example, in response to receiving an indication thatfacilitates voice commands, the second microphone 808B described above,which facilitates receiving voice commands from a user of the portableplayback device 710 a, may be activated via the microphone circuit. Inresponse to receiving an indication that facilitates noise cancellation,the first microphone 808A or third microphone 808C, described above,which facilitates the performance of noise cancellation operations, maybe activated via the microphone circuit.

In some examples, activating the microphone circuit comprises supplyingpower to the microphone circuit via a second power supply path 1009 thatis independently operated from the first power supply path 1008. Forinstance, as described in FIG. 10A, a first power supply path 1008supplies power to the external visual indicators 810, and a second powersupply path 1009 supplies power to the internal visual indicator 806,described above.

At block 1120, an interior visual indicator disposed within auser-facing surface 807 of an earcup 804 of the portable playback device710 a may be illuminated. As noted above, the earcup is configured toencapsulate an ear of the user. When the portable playback device 710 ais worn by the user, the state of the interior visual indicator isconcealed.

In some examples, subsequent to activation of the microphone circuit,the microphone circuit is deactivated after a predetermined period ofinactivity of the microphone. When the microphone circuit isdeactivated, the interior visual indicator is in an unilluminated state.

In some examples, when any of the first microphone 808A, the secondmicrophone 808B, or the third microphone 808C is actively receivingaudio signals, the interior visual indicator is in an illuminated state.And when all of the first microphone 808A, the second microphone 808B,and the third microphone 808C are deactivated, the interior visualindicator is in an unilluminated state. Further, in some examples, theinterior visual indicator is configured to indicate a plurality ofilluminated states. For instance, in an example, a first illuminatedstate is associated with activation of the first microphone 808A, asecond illuminated state is associated with activation of the secondmicrophone 808B, and a third illuminate state is associated withactivation of the third microphone 808C. In an example, the plurality ofilluminated states correspond to different colors.

FIG. 12 illustrates further operations by another example of a portableplayback device 710 a. Block 1200 involves receiving, via the portableplayback device, a power activation indication.

Block 1205 involves, responsive to receiving the power activationindication, supplying power to at least one exterior visual indicatordisposed on an outward-facing portion of an earcup of the portableplayback device via a first power supply path of the portable playbackdevice.

Block 1210 involves receiving, via the portable playback device, amicrophone activation indication associated with at least one microphoneof the portable playback device.

Block 1215 involves responsive to receiving the microphone activationindication, activating microphone circuitry associated with the at leastone microphone.

Block 1220 involves illuminating an interior visual indicator disposedwithin a user-facing surface of the earcup of the portable playbackdevice, wherein the interior visual indicator is positioned such thatwhen the portable playback device is worn by a user, a state of theinterior visual indicator is concealed, and when the portable playbackdevice is not worn by the user, a state of the interior visual indicatoris visible.

Some examples involve supplying power to the exterior visual indicatorvia a first power supply path. Wherein activating the microphone circuitfurther involves supplying power to the microphone circuit via a secondpower supply path that is independently operated from the first powersupply path.

In some examples, receiving the microphone activation indication furtherinvolves receiving a user actuation via a user interface of the portableplayback device to activate the at least one microphone.

In some examples, receiving the microphone activation indication furtherinvolves receiving a user actuation via a controller in communicationwith the portable playback device that includes a user interface withuser interface elements that facilitate activation of the at least onemicrophone.

Some examples involve, subsequent to activation of the microphonecircuit, deactivating the microphone circuit after a predeterminedperiod of inactivity of the microphone, wherein when the microphonecircuit is deactivated, the interior visual indicator transitions to anunilluminated state.

In some examples, the at least one microphone is one of a plurality ofmicrophones that comprise: a first microphone arranged on an outsidehousing of the portable playback devices that is configured to receiveambient noise and facilitate performance of noise cancellation, a secondmicrophone arranged on the outside housing that facilitates receivingvoice commands from a user of the portable playback device, and a thirdmicrophone arranged within the earcup the portable playback deviceconfigured to encapsulate an ear of the user and which is configured tofacilitate monitoring of audio signals communicated from a speaker ofthe portable playback device. The audio signals of the third microphonemay be used to facilitate noise cancellation in addition to or insteadof the audio signals of the first microphone.

In some examples, illuminating the interior visual indicator furtherinvolves illuminating the interior visual indicator when any of thefirst microphone, the second microphone, or the third microphone isactively receiving audio signals, the interior visual indicator is in anilluminated state. This example further involves transitioning theinterior visual indicator to an unilluminated state when all of thefirst microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone aredeactivated, the interior visual indicator is in an unilluminated state.

In some examples, the interior visual indicator is configured toindicate a plurality of illuminated states, wherein a first illuminatedstate is associated with activation of the first microphone, a secondilluminated state is associated with activation of the secondmicrophone, and a third illuminated state is associated with activationof the third microphone.

In some examples, the plurality of illuminated states correspond todifferent colors.

Some examples involves maintaining a state of the interior visualindicator in an illuminated state while the state of the interior visualindicator is concealed.

In some examples, the microphone circuit is configured to control theinterior visual indicator to illuminate when the microphone circuit isactivated.

In some examples, the microphone circuit is configured to control theinterior visual indicator to illuminate when power supply current flowsinto the microphone circuit.

IV. Conclusion

The above discussions relating to portable playback devices, playbackdevices, control devices, playback zone configurations, and mediacontent sources provide only some examples of operating environmentswithin which functions and methods described below may be implemented.Other operating environments and configurations of media playbacksystems, playback devices, and network devices not explicitly describedherein may also be applicable and suitable for implementation of thefunctions and methods.

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyways) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforegoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a portable playbackdevice, the method comprising: receiving, via the portable playbackdevice, a power activation indication; responsive to receiving the poweractivation indication, supplying power to at least one exterior visualindicator disposed on an outward-facing portion of an earcup of theportable playback device via a first power supply path of the portableplayback device; receiving, via the portable playback device, amicrophone activation indication associated with at least one microphoneof the portable playback device; responsive to receiving the microphoneactivation indication, activating microphone circuitry associated withthe at least one microphone; and illuminating an interior visualindicator disposed within a user-facing surface of the earcup of theportable playback device, wherein the interior visual indicator ispositioned such that when the portable playback device is worn by auser, a state of the interior visual indicator is concealed, and whenthe portable playback device is not worn by the user, a state of theinterior visual indicator is visible.
 2. The method according to claim1, further comprising: supplying power to the exterior visual indicatorvia the first power supply path; and wherein activating the microphonecircuit further comprises supplying power to the microphone circuitryvia a second power supply path that is independently operated from thefirst power supply path.
 3. The method according to claim 1, whereinreceiving the microphone activation indication further comprises:receiving a user actuation via a user interface of the portable playbackdevice to activate the at least one microphone.
 4. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein receiving the microphone activation indicationfurther comprises: receiving a user actuation via a controller incommunication with the portable playback device that includes a userinterface with user interface elements that facilitate activation of theat least one microphone.
 5. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: subsequent to activation of the microphone circuitry,deactivating the microphone circuitry after a predetermined period ofinactivity of the microphone, wherein when the microphone circuitry isdeactivated, the interior visual indicator transitions to anunilluminated state.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the atleast one microphone is one of a plurality of microphones thatcomprises: a first microphone arranged on an outside housing of theportable playback device that is configured to receive ambient noise andfacilitate performance of noise cancellation, a second microphonearranged on the outside housing that facilitates receiving voicecommands from a user of the portable playback device, and a thirdmicrophone arranged within the earcup the portable playback deviceconfigured to encapsulate an ear of the user and which is configured tofacilitate monitoring of audio signals communicated from a speaker ofthe portable playback device.
 7. The method according to claim 6,wherein illuminating the interior visual indicator further comprisesilluminating the interior visual indicator when any of the firstmicrophone, the second microphone, or the third microphone is activelyreceiving audio signals, and wherein the method further comprisestransitioning the interior visual indicator to an unilluminated statewhen all of the first microphone, the second microphone, and the thirdmicrophone are deactivated.
 8. The method according to claim 6, whereinthe interior visual indicator is configured to indicate a plurality ofilluminated states, wherein a first illuminated state is associated withactivation of the first microphone, a second illuminated state isassociated with activation of the second microphone, and a thirdilluminated state is associated with activation of the third microphone.9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of illuminatedstates correspond to different colors.
 10. The method according to claim1, further comprising maintaining a state of the interior visualindicator in an illuminated state while the state of the interior visualindicator is concealed.
 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein themicrophone circuitry is configured to control the interior visualindicator to illuminate when the microphone circuitry is activated. 12.The method according to claim 11, wherein the microphone circuitry isconfigured to control the interior visual indicator to illuminate whenpower supply current flows into the microphone circuitry.
 13. A portableplayback device comprising: at least one processor; a first earcup; asecond earcup; a battery electrically coupled to at least a first powersupply path and a second power supply path, wherein the first powersupply path and the second power supply path are independently operated;at least one exterior visual indicator disposed on an outward-facingsurface of the first earcup, wherein the at least one exterior visualindicator is electrically coupled to the battery via the first powersupply path; an interior visual indicator disposed within a user-facingsurface of the first earcup of the portable playback device, wherein theinterior visual indicator is electrically coupled to the battery via thesecond power supply path, wherein the interior visual indicator ispositioned such that when the portable playback device is worn by auser, a state of the interior visual indicator is concealed, and whenthe portable playback device is not worn by the user, a state of theinterior visual indicator is visible; at least one microphone disposedon the outward-facing surface of the first earcup, wherein the at leastone microphone is electrically coupled to the battery via the secondpower supply path; and tangible, non-transitory computer-readable memoryhaving program instructions stored therein, wherein the programinstructions are executable by the at least one processor such that theportable playback device is configured to: receive a power activationindication; responsive to receiving the power activation indication,supply power to the at least one exterior visual indicator; receive amicrophone activation indication associated with at least one microphoneof the portable playback device; responsive to receiving the microphoneactivation indication, activate microphone circuitry associated with theat least one microphone; and illuminate the interior visual indicator.14. The portable playback device according to claim 13, whereinreceiving the microphone activation indication further comprises:receiving a user actuation via a user interface of the portable playbackdevice to activate the at least one microphone.
 15. The portableplayback device according to claim 13, wherein the program instructionsexecutable by the at least one processor such that the portable playbackdevice is configured to receive the microphone activation indicationfurther comprise program instructions executable by the at least oneprocessor such that the portable playback device is configured to:receive a user actuation via a controller in communication with theportable playback device that includes a user interface with userinterface elements that facilitate activation of the at least onemicrophone.
 16. The portable playback device according to claim 13,wherein the program instructions further comprise further programinstructions executable by the at least one processor such that theportable playback device is further configured to: subsequent toactivation of the microphone circuitry, deactivate the microphonecircuitry after a predetermined period of inactivity of the microphone,wherein when the microphone circuitry is deactivated, the interiorvisual indicator transitions to an unilluminated state.
 17. The portableplayback device according to claim 13, wherein the at least onemicrophone is one of a plurality of microphones that comprises: a firstmicrophone arranged on an outside housing of the portable playbackdevice that is configured to receive ambient noise and facilitateperformance of noise cancellation, a second microphone arranged on theoutside housing that facilitates receiving voice commands from a user ofthe portable playback device, and a third microphone arranged within thefirst earcup the portable playback device configured to encapsulate anear of the user and which is configured to facilitate monitoring ofaudio signals communicated from a speaker of the portable playbackdevice.
 18. The portable playback device according to claim 17, whereinwhen any of the first microphone, the second microphone, or the thirdmicrophone is actively receiving audio signals, the interior visualindicator is in an illuminated state, and when all of the firstmicrophone, the second microphone, and the third microphone aredeactivated, the interior visual indicator is in an unilluminated state.19. The portable playback device according to claim 17, wherein theinterior visual indicator is configured to indicate a plurality ofilluminated states, wherein a first illuminated state is associated withactivation of the first microphone, a second illuminated state isassociated with activation of the second microphone, and a thirdilluminated state is associated with activation of the third microphone.20. The portable playback device according to claim 19, wherein theplurality of illuminated states correspond to different colors.